Rep. Ilhan Omar said Sunday that it is “not acceptable” for President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to have issued public statements condemning the woman shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis “without a full investigation.”
“If they’re saying we shouldn’t believe our eyes, then let the investigation take place before you characterize this mother of three as a domestic terrorist,” Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “Prove to us what documentation you have that one, she was paid and two, that she was agitating when you can hear saying she’s not mad, she’s not upset, she’s clearly trying to waive cars to bypass her. And so it’s just this level of rhetoric is unjustifiable to the American people.”
Amid an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Wednesday shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen. Video of the incident from different vantage points has ricocheted across social media, with Mr. Trump and Vance insisting Good had instigated the shooting, although the footage is unclear whether Good was attempting to drive into the ICE agent or drive away.
Immediately after the shooting, Noem called it an “act of domestic terrorism,” doubling down on Sunday by alleging that Good had “weaponized her vehicle to conduct an act of violence against the law enforcement officer and the public.”
In response to Omar’s comments on Sunday, a White House spokesperson said “multiple videos” contradicted Omar, and insisted the “ICE officer was clearly struck by Good’s car.”
Minneapolis, which Omar represents in Congress, has been reeling since the shooting, with days of protests. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to “get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” and Gov. Tim Walz called the federal agency’s narrative of the events “bulls**t.” Walz added, “Don’t believe this propaganda machine.”
Omar said she thinks “it is really important for Americans to record” ICE agents and law enforcement at protests to “create the level of accountability and transparency that we need.”
“What we have seen in Minneapolis is ICE agents oftentimes jumping out of their cars,” Omar said. “These are unmarked cars. Oftentimes, they’re wearing a mask. They’re approaching, running towards cars. They’re pulling people out of those cars. Oftentimes, these people are citizens. Oftentimes, these people have documentation of their legal right to be in this country, and we know that DHS has lied repeatedly when it comes to these accounts, so it is even more important for there to be recording from eyewitnesses every single time these actions are taking place.”
